Culture

Cast member: Jennifer Lopez will ‘definitely’ appear in lesbian TV drama

Apr 19 2013
Written by Joseph McCormick

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

Jennifer Lopez will “definitely” appear in a cameo in the lesbian television drama she is currently producing, although it might not be in the first few episodes, a cast-member has said.

The pilot of television series The Fosters, was bought by ABC Family, and is being produced by singer-turned-actor Jennifer Lopez. It features a lesbian couple and their children.

Cast member Jake T Austin, who plays the foster son of the lesbian couple featured in the program, played by Teri Polo and Sherri Saum, said that Lopez had shown an interest in entering the show as a cameo.

“She was maybe thinking about doing a cameo in the pilot… but there was some apprehension in deciding how early they wanted to feature someone like her into the show.”

Despite being unsure of when, Austin said: “So she’ll definitely come on… but at this point we just don’t know when.”

He went on to comment on the nature of the programme, emphasising the importance of its “relatable” nature, and the fact that it will be shown on as large a network as ABC.

“It’s very current, it’s very timely and it’s something that’s needed, especially on a platform like ABC,” he continued. “The thing is it’s a family show and it’s relatable. It’s not targeting any specific demographic. We’re just trying to tell a story and to appeal to a mixed crowd.”

The pilot for the drama was targeted by anti-LGBT group One Million Moms, which slammed the show as “anti-family”, and said they would do everything they could to stop it “dead in its tracks”.

A recent poll found that in the US, more people said their perception of gay people had been positively influenced by television’s portrayal of them, than said it had a negative impact.

Back in August, the sixth annual Network Responsibility Index was published by GLAAD, and included details of networks and shows which had accurately reflected, or not, the LGBT community through their broadcasting.

Last week, US evangelical organisation the American Decency Association published an article claiming that “network television began to shove homosexuality down our throats years ago”.

The series will premiere on ABC Family in the US on 3 June.